We had very mixed results with Kaspersky's ability to protect out testing PCs. On one hand, Kaspersky's realtime antivirus protection was superb at stopping incoming threats. But on the other hand, Kaspersky was nearly useless in removing existing malware.

Yes, that's a bold statement to make against software built by such a legendary lab as Kaspersky, but that's what we saw. Repeatedly.

During our tests, we infected our computers with a large sample of malware infections, including viruses, trojans, adware, rogueware, etc. We then ran a full scan with Kaspersky Anti-Virus on each test PC to see how the software performed.

The results, we're sad to report, can only be described as dismal. Kaspersky was nearly incapable of removing the majority of malware samples we infected our Windows test PCs with. Our testing PCs and the Kaspersky application itself became so buggy and unresponsive that we were repeatedly forced to reinstall Windows just get things operational again.

As for Kaspersky's real-time protection, that part of the software is downright impressive. Even though we tried very hard to circumvent Kaspersky and install all manner of malicious software, Kaspersky was very thorough in blocking or outright deleting the malware. In the end we only got a couple of malware samples through. Given the number of threats we use, this was great to see.

The bottom line: Kaspersky Anti-Virus was all but useless in cleaning up exiting threats on our PCs but great at blocking new threats.

Resource Usage: 98%

Kaspersky's system resource usage was very low during my tests. When running a full-system scan, Kaspersky only reduced system performance by about 11%. Even when web-surfing or downloading files, our tests showed Kaspersky Anti-Virus to have minimal impact.

System resource usage was also minimal when Kaspersky was running idly in the background.

All and all, it's lightweight antivirus software.

User Interface: 91%

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For the most part, the Kaspersky Anti-Virus user interface is clean and modern looking. Navigation is acceptable but could be better.

For instance, after navigating away from the home page, the only option is to first return to the home page, then select another section. This gets very, very annoying. It's a terrible design choice. Why not just put the navigation all along the left side or top for easier, consistent access and less mucking about?

Despite the annoyance factor, Kaspersky is easy enough to use.

Technical Support: 70%

Kaspersky's technical support is one of its weakest parts. For starters, attempting to locate the right information for your issue is difficult. Kaspersky launches a variety of webpages and pop-up windows that ultimately make it unclear where to go or what's next. One centralized support page would be much more sane.

Their live support, which is based out of the Philippines, was fast and friendly even though it was obvious they were reading from a script.

The part we take real issue with is if you happen to get a virus while running Kaspersky, and the antivirus software can't clean it up on its own: like Bitdefender, it'll cost you $99 for them to remove it for you.

This is one of the most expensive fees out there, especially when other antivirus software companies like VIPRE, ESET, or Avira all offer this service for free. And strangely, this virus removal service is based out of Canada not the Philippines, so you end up having to start from scratch explaining the situation to a second technician.

Kaspersky has had varying results over the years but none as varied as this year. During our tests, Kaspersky Anti-Virus did very well at blocking incoming virus and malware attacks. Nearly everything, be it spyware, rogueware, trojans, or other malware was blocked and sometimes even deleted by Kaspersky before we could even try to get the infection to run, which is great.

On the other hand, Kaspersky did very poorly in virus removal and clean up tests. Kaspersky Anti-Virus was unable to clean or delete the majority of threats embedded on our different testing PCs, even to the point where Kaspersky itself became corrupted and unresponsive.

Even with a light footprint and decent user interface, it's hard to recommend Kaspersky Anti-Virus this year with its inconsistent performance against virus threats.

Software Version

2016

Supported Operating System (OS)

Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP

Minimum RAM Required

512 MB

Minimum Space Required

480 MB

Required Processor Speed

1 GHz

Money-back Guarantee

14 Days

Software Manufacturer

Kaspersky

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Home Screen

Full Scan

Quick Scan

Detailed Report

Scan Settings

External Device Scan

Scan Report

Reports

General Settings

Protection

Performance

Threat Level

Additional Tools

Support

Safe Surf

Alerts you to potentially dangerous web sites by flagging them with a warning before you click on the link.

Anti-Phishing

Helps protect you against fraudulent sites that want to steal your money or identity.

Gamer Mode

Let's Kaspersky run more efficiently and quietly in the background for uninterrupted online gaming.